Method and apparatus for assessing an ophthalmic patient before and after medical or surgical intervention such as laser surgery
US5835189A · kind A · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 9, 1997 |
| Grant date | Nov 10, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 9, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B3/12
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
In order to determine the prospective long term improvement to a diseased eye obtained by performing a treatment such as retinal laser surgery, the diameters of the four major arteriole blood vessels are measured, preferably digitally, and summed before the treatment at positions substantially equidistant from the center of the region where they converge and enter the optic nerve head. After the eye heals, the diameters of the blood vessels are digitally remeasured, and the degree of reduction of the second value with respect to the first value is determined. The reduction is compared to a predetermined reduction range (as obtained, for example, from a computer database of known results) which is representative of known degrees of long term improvement to obtain an indication of the expected long term results of the subject eye and the adequacy of the treatment. The same procedure may be employed to predict the results of medical or surgical retinal interventions other than retinal laser surgery, and a similar procedure may be employed to help establish the suitability of medical or surgical retinal interventions, including laser surgery, on a given eye by comparing the retinal blo…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.